DAVE CHISNALL won his maiden Players Championship title with a 6-4 defeat of Justin Pipe at Crawley’s K2 Centre.

The St Helens ace, in his debut year within the darts organisation, won through to his fourth final on the PDC ProTour on Sunday night before finally breaking his duck to take the £6,000 first prize.

The 31-year-old played superbly throughout Sunday’s tournament, twice missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish during a third round win over Ronnie Baxter and in his semi-final defeat of Co Stompe, before hitting six 180s in the final.

“It feels great,” said Chisnall, who also defeated world champion Adrian Lewis on Sunday. “After being in three finals before I was determined to get the win.

“Justin played well but luckily I got the win. He missed a few doubles but I hit mine. I played well all day and that’s fourth time lucky for me. My goal at the start of the year was to make sure I qualified for the World Championship and I’ve done that through the Players Championship Order of Merit. I’ve worked my way up and I’m really happy. It’s great for my confidence going into the Grand Slam. I’ve had some problems with doubles on TV but I’ve got to get over that and I’m looking forward to it.”

Only two Players Championships remain before the field for the World Championship is confirmed, with those events in Wigan on November 27 and 28 to be followed by the PDPA Qualifier for the tournament.